From Panels to People: Rethinking Respondent Engagement

Let’s face it! Traditional research panels aren’t cutting it anymore.

For years, market research has relied on large pools of pre-profiled individuals, often referred to as “panels,” to generate insights at scale. And while panels gave us reach and reliability, they also lulled the industry into a comfort zone, where respondents became data points, not people.

But the world has shifted. Audiences have evolved. Attention spans have shortened. Expectations have skyrocketed.

At ThinkNow, we believe it’s time to rethink how we engage respondents not as panelists, but as people.

The Problem with the “Professional Respondent”

You know the type, the person who’s in 15 panels, knows the right answers, and is simply rushing to the incentive. They’re the product of outdated engagement models where surveys are transactional, not relational.

This results in flat data, low authenticity, and insights that don’t reflect reality, especially when researching diverse, underrepresented communities where trust and context matter.

What Needs to Change?

The industry must move from mass reach to meaningful engagement. That means:

• Contextual Relevance: Surveys that reflect people’s lived experiences, languages, and cultural realities.
• Trust First: Especially with multicultural audiences, engagement starts with trust, not a survey link.
• Mobile-First, Human-Centric Design: It’s 2025 — stop designing surveys like it’s 2009. Respondents expect intuitive, mobile-first experiences.
• Rewarding Value, Not Just Time: Incentives should feel fair and respectful, not like a barter system for opinions.

Turning Panels into Communities

The online sample team at ThinkNow is building more than panels. We’re nurturing communities of people who want to be heard and willingly share their opinions, providing zero-party data brands can trust. Our approach combines cultural fluency, smart segmentation, and behavioural insights to go beyond checkbox answers.

We're also exploring new frontiers, including synthetic data modeling, AI-driven recontact strategies, and authentic content integration that makes surveys feel less like tests and more like conversations.

Because at the end of the day, insights don’t come from checkboxes. They come from connection.

The Way Forward

It’s time we ask ourselves: Are we collecting data, or are we listening? The future of market research lies in making every respondent feel like their voice matters, because it does. Let’s ditch the dusty “panelist” label and treat our respondents like what they truly are: individuals with stories, context, and value.

When we do that, the insights take care of themselves.